“…there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus” is what Paul wrote. How could he have known this, except by the certainty of personal experience? Paul benefitted from oppression and he extended the reach of oppression to the fledgling church. He would later discover he did not speak for God but was speaking and living in opposition to God. What he thought he was defending, was actually frustrating the new work of God. It was there, in the raw, rare moment of insight when no defense or excuse is adequate that he experienced grace. Grace not karma. Grace, an undeserved benefit. Forgiveness and absolution. A future and a hope not a damning. Maybe it is the unutterable fear of condemnation that makes us afraid as a nation to interrogate our American family story: America did and continues to obliterate native people. America stole west Africa’s strength, ingenuity and ovaries to build this country and create generational wealth. America increasingly depends on Hispanic labor and grit while simultaneously disparaging and disregarding their health and humanity. And, we still diminish the worth and work of women of every color and ethnicity through the practice of unequal pay. How much more healthy our nation would be if we could lay ourselves bare before these truths, certain that what Paul discovered would also be true for us—no condemnation, only an invitation to pivot and build with God.
For People with Bishop Rob Wright
The new podcast expands on Bishop’s For Faith devotional, drawing inspiration from the life of Jesus to answer 21st-century questions.